Camera wise, the Black is a better camera for the higher resolution options. That said, having a 4K resolution doesn't really mean much for "regular" guys. It'll give you some more flexibility in the post process editing, but there's really very few devices that will let you show 4K or 2.7K videos and certainly none on the web. You do get 60 fps at 1080p with the GoPro where you only get 30 with the Drift (and Contour). You can do 60 fps at 720 with the Drift.

It looks like the Drift is taking good videos, but I haven't seen enough to really say. Many of the sites that have done head to head comparisons rank the Contour ahead of the Drift, but both behind the GoPro.

On the other hand, with the GoPro, you get the clunky square form factor that sticks out from where ever you mount it and you have to mount it upright. It's smaller now, but still a big negative for me! With the Drift (and Contour) you can mount it at any angle, in virtually any place and rotate the lens to get upright video and it's fairly compact in comparison to the GoPro. You can mount it pretty flush to the top or side of a helmet, one of the tubes of your bike (along the top tube, head tube etc) so it's much less likely to grab a branch or something as you go by.

I think for mounting options, GoPro and Contour lead the pack. Drift has a bunch, but not as many.

And despite what aedubber says, battery life is a consideration, especially if you're going to be doing long, multi-day events, since it affects how many extra batteries you'd have to bring along. Or on a long day ride, you'll have to manage things better with the shorter life battery.

Disclaimer: I use a Contour ROAM and am very happy with it. I want to get a higher end camera to go with the ROAM so I'm keeping an eye on all of them. I initially was thinking that with the super high resolution of the Black, I'd grab one, but in the end, I'll likely never use the capability and will have to deal with the form factor, so I'll stick with the Contour and get a +2 based on everything I've read and seen (or wait for the +3!).

Not sure how long the Hero3 batteries last, but I have a GoPro 2 and Hero HD and battery life is pretty decent on those two - I know the Hero3 uses a different battery so can't attest to that particular model.

I don't use Strava. Don't need an application to tell me I am slow because I already know.

Thanks for the replies. From the research Ive done it seems to me that the only thing better than on the GoPro 3 black is the high res i.e. 4k and 60 fps at 1080 - I'm not going to have anything to play the 4k on in the next few years and from what I understand the 60 fps will give me slow motion which the Drift Ghost will do at 720 which again will be ok for my needs.

The benefits of the Ghost are form factor, as Skiahh pointed out above this will give me more mounting options (you can also get an adapter for the Ghost to allow you to use the GoPro mounts) the Ghost has better battery life and is cheaper.

Am I missing something? Please say if I am. As above everyone says the gopro 3 is the best out there but is this only for professional's? those that have the ability to film and edit in the highest res?

There are not enough examples of videos from the average person out there at the moment but the ones on the web for the Ghost seem pretty good.

My thinking is the Ghost will be the overall better camera for what I need rather than the spec on the box?

Thanks for the replies. From the research Ive done it seems to me that the only thing better than on the GoPro 3 black is the high res i.e. 4k and 60 fps at 1080 - I'm not going to have anything to play the 4k on in the next few years and from what I understand the 60 fps will give me slow motion which the Drift Ghost will do at 720 which again will be ok for my needs.

The benefits of the Ghost are form factor, as Skiahh pointed out above this will give me more mounting options (you can also get an adapter for the Ghost to allow you to use the GoPro mounts) the Ghost has better battery life and is cheaper.

Am I missing something? Please say if I am. As above everyone says the gopro 3 is the best out there but is this only for professional's? those that have the ability to film and edit in the highest res?

There are not enough examples of videos from the average person out there at the moment but the ones on the web for the Ghost seem pretty good.

My thinking is the Ghost will be the overall better camera for what I need rather than the spec on the box?

But again if I'm wrong please tell me why.

many thanks

If you don't need the 4K or 2.5K or 1080p @ 60fps and all you plan to edit is 720p @ 60fps then your decision is easier. If you like the LCD screen then maybe the Drift HD would better suit you - I believe wireless is built into both the GoPro 3 Black and Drift ghost HD so it is an even draw there.

The GoPro 3 is smaller than the previous GoPro's and in my opinion, I never had any issue with the bulkiness of the HeroHD or Hero 2 cameras - with the GoPro 3 being smaller - I don't see any major issue with the box shape versus the shape of the Ghost HD.

But in the end, it is your camera and you should get what you think suits you. I don't edit above 720p @ 60 fps so the only thing I like about the Hero 3 for my tastes are the better image quality and built in wireless.

I don't use Strava. Don't need an application to tell me I am slow because I already know.

Dont need the 4k or 2.5k but the Ghost will shoot in 1080 - question. What is the real world difference in shooting at 1080 at 60fps and 1080 at 30 fps?? Is the image the same quality and you lose a bit of slow motion capability?? or is the image at 1080/60 better than 1080/30??

you say that you dont edit above 720 at 60 fps so why would the gp3 be better for you? Just asking and trying to understand, not being difficult.

4k. No, I won't be using it for ANY video, but its effectively a 15 fps 12 megapixel camera. Will be great for pulling still images from.

120 FPS @ 720. I do most my filming at 720, and 120fps is twice what the ghost offers. Excellent for slo-mo.

Chest mount. Despite the rather unpopular square form factor on the gopro, it's the best for chest mount views, which imo, are the most accurate/real.

1080 @ 60fps. This allows for shooting a larger frame, so I can zoom in while post processing with no quality loss, it essentially gives you extra video real estate if you produce/edit in 720.

WiFi remote. I'm sure the Ghost has it too...

I've used the Hero 2 and have some mounts and accessories that will transfer to the black. Even if that weren't the case, I'd still go with the black.

**Extra batteries are always a great idea, no matter what camera you have

Thank you, I think I'm finally understanding final question. You say filming at 720 at 120 fps gives you better slow mo. Would it give me better quality video or is it really for slow mo?

The drift does had wifi remote. The reason I'm favouring the ghost at the moment is because it seems to be a bit better value, with the gopro you have to add stuff like battery backpack's, screen and the ghost has these as standard and a lower cost.

Although after looking at the GoPro website the video examples are far better than the Drifts website!! Aaaarrrgghhh!!!

I edit at 720 (should have said 30fps, not 60 - my bad). The gp3 does 720 @ 120fps, so the slow motion quality will be very good. For me, that's an important feature.

Difference (for me) in shooting 60fps or 30fps: I just like having the option for cleaner slow-mo. I'm not sure there's a difference in image quality that you or I could discern.

(Also, the gp3 will do a three second burst of still images at 10 frames per second. The still image capability is a big deal for me, but I understand it may not be for other people.)

If you're cool with 720 or 1080 at 30fps, don't need 4k or 2.5k, then the gp3 might be overkill, but it seems about the same price as the ghost - and to me it just seems more versatile according to my needs.

Thank you, I think I'm finally understanding final question. You say filming at 720 at 120 fps gives you better slow mo. Would it give me better quality video or is it really for slow mo?

The drift does had wifi remote. The reason I'm favouring the ghost at the moment is because it seems to be a bit better value, with the gopro you have to add stuff like battery backpack's, screen and the ghost has these as standard and a lower cost.

Although after looking at the GoPro website the video examples are far better than the Drifts website!! Aaaarrrgghhh!!!

True, you do have to add the screen - I do wish it was integrated, but honestly I don't use my screen that often. This may change with the 4k thing though, want to make I have stuff framed exactly.

On paper, one might be able to argue higher frame rates will give better overall quality (Peter Jackson shot the Hobbit at a higher frame rate) but I don't think the average user would notice a difference on their laptop or hd tv. For me its all about being able to do slow mo

(I'd take the video comparisons on the manufacturer's website with a grain of salt. The GP3 has "protune", which shoots your video is a sort of flat/low contrast look that lends itself to post processing. Not sure the others do this.)

I'd bet the Ghost's video are comparable to the GoPro, there's a lot that goes in post processing to affect all that stuff.

I suppose the three things that are most important to me are
Remote *Drift can turn the unit on/off has lights to easily see mode,
Battery life - Drift seems to win on this one although I know I will still need a spare battery if I want a
full day. Not sure how both will perform though with stopping/starting from the remote. Maybe on a 4-5 hr ride there will be around 8-10 trails that I would want filming of around 5mins each trail so hoping I
might get away with just the one battery? Also I like the feature of the 5 min standby which I believe both the drift and gopro black both have.

I dont thing the Contour has a remote or the 5 min mode and together with both the Drift and Gopro
having better still photo capability this has ruled out the Contour.

Not sure if I will use it but the Drift also has digital zoom, might be useful? I also like the Drifts ability to mount in different positions on the bike and the lens can be rotated to compensate.

I ride mountain and road pedal bikes together with off road/road motorbikes so I'm hoping the camera
will get lots of use which is why I'm a bit anal about making the right decision for me needs.

also the Drift works out a bit cheaper which also helps but is not a deal breaker.

The GP3 also has a phone app you can download that will act as a remote, I've not used it so can't really comment. The wi-fi remote on the GP3 has a little lcd screen that shows exactly the same thing that's on the camera, and you can change modes with the remote as well.

The Drift is probably easier to mount to *whatever*, as it's just a bit smaller and all. The lens rotate option is pretty cool too. If you can get it cheap, it's probably a better option for you.

Good luck, and be sure to post up when get one and shoot as video with it!

I suppose the three things that are most important to me are
Remote *Drift can turn the unit on/off has lights to easily see mode,
Battery life - Drift seems to win on this one although I know I will still need a spare battery if I want a
full day. Not sure how both will perform though with stopping/starting from the remote. Maybe on a 4-5 hr ride there will be around 8-10 trails that I would want filming of around 5mins each trail so hoping I
might get away with just the one battery? Also I like the feature of the 5 min standby which I believe both the drift and gopro black both have.

I dont thing the Contour has a remote or the 5 min mode and together with both the Drift and Gopro
having better still photo capability this has ruled out the Contour.

Not sure if I will use it but the Drift also has digital zoom, might be useful? I also like the Drifts ability to mount in different positions on the bike and the lens can be rotated to compensate.

I ride mountain and road pedal bikes together with off road/road motorbikes so I'm hoping the camera
will get lots of use which is why I'm a bit anal about making the right decision for me needs.

also the Drift works out a bit cheaper which also helps but is not a deal breaker.

OK, understandable. I will say that the big slide switch is a very positive on/off indicator for the Contour, where remotes do sometimes have issues. Not trying to sell you on it, just pointing out the differences.

Contour doesn't have the 5 minute loop, nor a zoom.

I'd go with the Ghost, then, since I like the rotating lens and slim body. But that's my preference.

With the touch screen and battery backpack add on's for the gopro it works out around £100 uk between the two but of course the screen is not essential as you can hook up to your android phone if needed. That then brings the difference down to around £20 uk so the plot continues!!

I am pulling towards the Drift though on the battery, screen rotation/mounting options. Just want to make sure the quality will be ok.

So after all this I will probably end up with the GoPro!! Will keep you updated and when and whatever I purchase will get lots of footage on all bikes.